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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development of the Republic of Kiribati, will hold an inception and upgrading strategy workshop on 4-5 July in Tarawa. Although the project started in 2020, this official national launch event was hampered by travel restrictions and border closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The FAO “Sustainable Fish Value Chains for Small Island Developing States (SVC4SIDS)” project aims to enhance the domestic tuna value chain in Tarawa, Nikunau and Makin islands, and the lobster value chain in Kiritimati island.

Given the critical role that the 2 value chains play in sustaining livelihoods and unique identities of project island communities, the inception and upgrading strategy workshop in Tarawa will actively engage local stakeholders to propose upgrading options and strategies while enabling ownership and facilitating empowerment.  Previous project activities and stakeholder engagement included a tuna value chain mapping workshop in May 2022 and stock-taking mission, food safety and value addition trainings in Nikunau and Makin islands in June and July 2022.

SVC4SIDS will hold a lobster value chain mapping and validation workshop on 27 June. The workshop aims to address various aspects of the lobster value chain, with particular attention to the artisanal sector. The meeting will serve as a platform to validate the value chain map, identify improvement needs, discuss associated challenges, and pre-identify data gaps for future data collection. Through collaborative efforts,expertise and full engagement of stakeholders, the workshop will enable the drafting of an upgrading strategy for the sustainable development of the lobster value chain in Kiritimati.  

To maximize benefits and create synergies with other projects in the country, SVC4SIDS has been collaborating closely with other projects namely the Enhancing livelihoods and food security through fisheries with nearshore fish aggregating devices in the Pacific Ocean (FishFAD).